Specialist Repurposing & Recycling
So you’re already helping the environment by filling your doorstep recycling bins and boxes as well as turning your food waste into compost for your garden but there’s still other household waste that doesn’t fit into these categories that needn’t go into your black bin.
Firstly think: REFILL / REUSE / REPURPOSE!
Start by thinking if you could reuse or repurpose your items, using them as a free resource by refilling for their original purpose, for some other storage or for creative craftwork.
Household cleaners & toiletries containers & some food items:
Refill your containers at specialist stores which offer refill. Locally these include Roots Farmshop for refill toiletries, cooking oils and frozen food; Guisborough Refill inside Tony Gallaghers Hairdressing for toiletries; Tindalls Hardware, Stokesley for household cleaners.
Glass jars: Clean and use to store dried food or small items like screws and buttons. Make your own jam or pickles and fill your empty glass jars. Decorate and use as tealight holders.
Some market stall homemade preserve and honey sellers will accept your clean jars and give you money off their products.
Plastic bottles or tubs: Transform into planters for herbs, microgreens or flowers, or used as storage containers.
Old T-shirts: Can be cut into strips and woven into reusable shopping bags or used as cleaning cloths.
Wine Corks: Can be used as bulletin boards, coasters, or even as drainage material for potted plants.
Newspapers, Magazines, Brown paper bags: Can be used as wrapping paper, or for making decorative items. Can also be transformed into briquettes for burning if you have an open fire.
SPECIALIST RECYCLING
There are many local facilities you can take items to where they can be reused, repurposed or recycled. Some facilities even reward you when they reuse / recycle your items!
Community libraries, community centres, leisure centres, schools & churches: Many local community places have specialist recycling / repurposing facilities. These vary throughout the year so pop in to your closest centre and check out what you can recycle there.
For example our local leisure centres have recycling points for swimming equipment; many schools run uniform and sports clothing & equipment banks; Great Ayton Discovery Centre Library has specialist recycling points; Stokesley Globe Library has a seed share and surplus home grown vegetables and fruit share.
Soft plastics like plastic bags & wrappers: If you find you have lots of soft plastics which can’t be put into your doorstep recycling containers firstly consider reducing your use of soft plastics where possible and opting for reusable alternatives.
Major supermarkets locally like Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Co-op provide free recycling collection points for these materials.
Soft plastics are lightweight plastics that can be easily scrunched into a ball e.g. plastic bags (including bread bags, cereal liners, and frozen food bags), wrappers (like crisp packets, biscuit wrappers, and chocolate wrappers), fruit and vegetable packaging (including nets and some films), pouches from products like pet food or baby food, film lids on yogurt pots and ready meals. Remember to rinse and dry your soft plastic items before recycling.
Blister packs: Blister packs, often used for medicines and vitamins, are typically not accepted in household recycling due to the mixed materials (plastic and aluminium foil).
Retailers like Boots (Guisborough, Middlesbrough, Northallerton, Thirsk, Redcar, Stockton), and Superdrug Pharmacies (Harrogate, Chester le Street, Bridlington) have dedicated recycling programs for them. You can even collect Advantage Points at Boots when you recycle.
Plastic plant pots: Some garden centres will take empty clean plastic plant pots and reuse them. The Dobbies and Klondyke chains (includes Strikes at Stokesley and Northallerton) accepts used pots all year round and Whitegates near Northallerton accepts them seasonally.
Makeup & toiletries containers: Boots and Superdrug (including those without a pharmacy) stores have collection points for used & empty beauty product containers.
Stationery: Worn out or broken pencils, highlighters, pens and refills can be recycled for free at all Rymans stores.
Also you can get your inkjet printer cartridges recycled at Rymans who offer reward points for each cartridge. Our most local Ryman stores are in Northallerton and Darlington.
Clothing & textiles: If your clothing & textiles need repair, bring them along to the local Repair Cafes at Stokesley, Northallerton, Thirsk, Guisborough, Saltburn & Middlesbrough.
If clothing & textiles are still usable but unwanted consider using charity shops where they can get a second life and raise money for a good cause.
There are also charity clothes, textiles and shoe collection banks at some supermarkets.
The RSPCA and other animal protection and rescue organisations welcome donations of old or unwanted towels, blankets and sheets for use as animal bedding. These items provide comfort and warmth to the animals in their care. While many branches accept these items, it’s best to check with your local animal centre to confirm their specific needs and whether they have storage space for larger items like duvets and pillows.
Furniture: Unwanted but usable furniture and other household items may be taken to some charities where they can be reused as well as raising funds. Locally these include Daisy Chain at Portrack Stockton, Age Concern Northallerton, Sue Ryder Northallerton, Yorkshire Cancer Research Northallerton.
Some charities will even collect from your home like British Heart Foundation Northallerton.
Batteries: Never put batteries with your normal waste, as they can cause fires when crushed in the bin lorries. Instead any shop that sells batteries will have a recycling bin including supermarkets, or take them to your local councils household recycling sites.
Spectacles: Many opticians will take your old spectacles, locally Cooper and Barr in Stokesley collect for reuse via Vision Aid Overseas and Specsavers in Northallerton.
Dental Products: Some dentists offer to take plastic toothbrushes (including electric toothbrush heads), plastic toothpaste tubes and packaging plus floss containers.
All information on this leaflet correct at time of printing (June 2025) but facilities do change so always check before travelling any distance
If you have any ideas or useful tips for specialist repurposing and recycling please go to our website where you can find a contact email so we can update / expand this leaflet!
CASaV Leaflets
This page is also available as one of a series of CASaV Leaflets, so you can download a printable pdf here – double sided tri-fold leaflet or an editable version which you can make your own and use for your group – OpenOffice document.
Climate Action Stokesley and Villages 